Without wholly intending to, I joined the masses in this retail mania. Good thing I did because I ended up receiving the 'Most Winning-est Consumer' award for my efforts. There wasn't any super-sale I was chasing, just a few good buys and a well placed acid reflux attack to rip me out of bed in the early morning.
It started in flames.
I have frequent discomfort from acid reflux, but this was a full-on attack. It felt like a dozen lava monsters were trying to climb out of my throat. But like lobsters in a bucket, any time one got close to escaping it was dragged down by other lava monsters, clawing my esophagus the whole way. Once I semi-recovered and cleared my head I hit the bricks.
Onward to Target.
Got a nice $70 deal on a 2 TB hard drive. I figure with our new D-SLR, 14 MP pictures and 1080p video will eat up space fast. I'm always on the lookout for bargain storage and backups, backups backups!
I got my eye on you Gamestop.
I visited the store for some $15 PS3 games. It was obvious they were being paid to hype XBox Kinect. And they did it passively. The employees chattered about how much they wanted one in between register transactions and in a grand show the manager took the floor to announce the going rate on ebay. The funny thing was, they claimed to be sold-out. I know Target and another Gamestop less than 1 mile away had piles of Kinects 6-foot high. So what's your game Store #4913?
And onto Kohl's.
I finished the morning with a trip to Kohl's for a nice winter jacket for Momma. Then without further delay I was headed back home, with deals in hand and only a slight echo of the lava monsters ringing in my throat.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Violet's First Thanksgiving
Ahhh the great bird day, where Lea and I get to live a little like Violet by stuffing our faces, napping, then heading back for leftovers. Violet had a blast. She got a kick out of seeing pilgrims and couldn't get over the 'weediculous' (her words) idea of wearing your belt on your hat.
Violet started off the day lounging and being cute. I walked in on Lea explaining what a turkey was. Quickly, I interrupted the lesson. My kid has to hit the ground running, so I skipped the turkey talk and jumped right into explaining the turducken.
Enough napping in this house, let's go nap at GiGi's house. Violet slept through our Thanksgiving feast (she would have to wait a few hours for it to show up in Momma's milk). Of course there was turkey, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and slaw, in addition to the debut of Lea's GF apple sausage stuffing. All AWESOME. To put a Frable appropriate cap on the dinner, Lea pulled out her 'Fire Marshall Bill' face and didn't stop till Uncle Thom did a spit-take, then vomm'd in his mouth. Time for Violet to continue napping through the day, this time by the auxiliary Christmas tree.
After all this excitement we headed back home for some quality time. Violet tasted some turkey. We watched the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving special. Now, on the eve of Black Friday, we can all relax. For the time, Violet's precious mind is invincible to the evil grasp of advertising. On future Black Fridays I'm sure I'll be planning covert ops to retrieve the latest tickle-me-furby or silly-hamsters or cabbage-patch-elmo.
<4
Enough napping in this house, let's go nap at GiGi's house. Violet slept through our Thanksgiving feast (she would have to wait a few hours for it to show up in Momma's milk). Of course there was turkey, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and slaw, in addition to the debut of Lea's GF apple sausage stuffing. All AWESOME. To put a Frable appropriate cap on the dinner, Lea pulled out her 'Fire Marshall Bill' face and didn't stop till Uncle Thom did a spit-take, then vomm'd in his mouth. Time for Violet to continue napping through the day, this time by the auxiliary Christmas tree.
After all this excitement we headed back home for some quality time. Violet tasted some turkey. We watched the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving special. Now, on the eve of Black Friday, we can all relax. For the time, Violet's precious mind is invincible to the evil grasp of advertising. On future Black Fridays I'm sure I'll be planning covert ops to retrieve the latest tickle-me-furby or silly-hamsters or cabbage-patch-elmo.
<4
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Parents = Automatically Unhip
I was watching Sesame Street with Violet this morning. At this time, I also realized that becoming a parent has automatically made me unhip. In fact, I am so unhip, it's a wonder that my ass doesn't fall off! (I am slapping my knee right now, geezer style. Har har.) This is what I saw on Sesame Street. It has really gotten 'street' since I watched it last.
'Zat you Santa Claus?
'Tis the Christmas season. The boxes are out of storage and the lights are strung on the roof. The holiday has overcome Thanksgiving and begun encroaching on Halloween. As we were unpacking the Christmas decorations and watching some old stand-up comedy, Violet and I had the following conversation (paraphrased below).
V: haaaaaaaahhmmmm (Hey who's that?)
M: Who? Me?
V: ahh ahhhhzzz (No, the guy in the red suit.)
M: Honey that is Eddy Murphy. We're watching an old tape of his stand-up.
V: thig-g-g-g-g G-G-G-Gh (THE ONE IN THE Hat!)
M: This is Santa Claus. He brings toys to good children every Christmas Eve.
V: h-rumph (Toys you say? I must meet this man.)
And so the journey began. We set out to meet this Santa Claus Saturday (11/20) afternoon, unsure of the mall traffic we'd face. We were also unsure of what Violet would think of her first encounter with Santa Claus or her first shopping trip.
Santa was so happy to see Violet. And Violet was happy to see Santa. Through Santa's magic powers he was able to understand what Violet wanted for Christmas.
Afterwards we went shopping. Violet showed us when she'd had enough of the mall by dropping a bomb in the seat of her pants. I decided to give changing her in our Honda Element a shot, while Lea stopped into a shop to make an exchange. I was scared to see how a 350 lb. man would fit in the back of this car. There was plenty of space for me without having to hang out of the car; and the way the seats reclined, it made for the perfect changing table. Who knew? Now I do. Now you do. Doo doo.
V: haaaaaaaahhmmmm (Hey who's that?)
M: Who? Me?
V: ahh ahhhhzzz (No, the guy in the red suit.)
M: Honey that is Eddy Murphy. We're watching an old tape of his stand-up.
V: thig-g-g-g-g G-G-G-Gh (THE ONE IN THE Hat!)
M: This is Santa Claus. He brings toys to good children every Christmas Eve.
V: h-rumph (Toys you say? I must meet this man.)
And so the journey began. We set out to meet this Santa Claus Saturday (11/20) afternoon, unsure of the mall traffic we'd face. We were also unsure of what Violet would think of her first encounter with Santa Claus or her first shopping trip.
Santa was so happy to see Violet. And Violet was happy to see Santa. Through Santa's magic powers he was able to understand what Violet wanted for Christmas.
Afterwards we went shopping. Violet showed us when she'd had enough of the mall by dropping a bomb in the seat of her pants. I decided to give changing her in our Honda Element a shot, while Lea stopped into a shop to make an exchange. I was scared to see how a 350 lb. man would fit in the back of this car. There was plenty of space for me without having to hang out of the car; and the way the seats reclined, it made for the perfect changing table. Who knew? Now I do. Now you do. Doo doo.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Su-su-sudio!!!
Okay, so I feel that I have to explain the whole Phil Collins thing. At the end of the video Mike posted in the previous blog entry, there's a clip from the song, "Sussudio." That was not just for your entertainment, people. We say this everytime our child sneezes. Yup. You heard it right. Instead of saying "God Bless You" this is what we say. We are not religious, so we don't want to kid ourselves here. (Or kid our kid.) We sometimes say "gesundheit" which is German for "good health." Mike found this all pretty ridiculous and started saying "sussudio" instead. It is just as ridiculous! So that is what we are going with. I don't care to get into a religious debate here, so I am leaving it at that.
Other random fun things :
*We update Violet's picture album as often as we can. So if you look to the left, you can click on her album and see new pictures fairly often.
New, higher quality pictures and video are on the way! (Last video was taken in the dark and I didn't even fix my camera settings accordingly...she was smiling! I was in a hurry!)
I know that she will be smiling more often and giggling and cooing, but I am a first-timer here and every first moment counts!
*We listen to super cool music. If you want to hear some random picks of ours, go crazy! (Also on side of page) We did not choose the option to have a song automatically start up when you come to our page. We find it slightly startling and forceful. Okay that last line was a bit harsh. We are actually just easily startled by LOUD NOISES!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Right now, Violet's two favorite songs are the Hokey Pokey and Winter Wonderland (as sung by the Eurythmics...oh that Annie Lennox!)
*Mike says some pretty weirdo things to her, by the way. This will not come as a surprise to many, but I thought I would share just a few of them here:
-Dear Santa, please give me stripes for Christmas. No, not the Bill Murray movie Stripes, but the actual pattern. Ten feet tall, please.
-Listen Violet, sometimes the "k" at the beginning of a word is silent. DON'T ASK ME WHY! JUST DO IT!!! (The part in caps was totally said in a typical Brooklyn accent, by the way)
-We need to go to Old Country Buffet for the Early Bird special and wear large jackets so we can stuff them with chicken fingers that we can take home to eat later. We need to get a goat whose milk is honey mustard. Did you know that honey mustard is just honey and mustard?
-Watch the head, kid! You'd think you were at an Iron Maiden show!
-I think your diaper needs a therapist.
Again, these are just the few that I can remember (I have to write them down.) It's just weird, funny but cute things I just happen to overhear him talking to her about.
Enough random for now. I shall leave you with the sneeze song.
Other random fun things :
*We update Violet's picture album as often as we can. So if you look to the left, you can click on her album and see new pictures fairly often.
New, higher quality pictures and video are on the way! (Last video was taken in the dark and I didn't even fix my camera settings accordingly...she was smiling! I was in a hurry!)
I know that she will be smiling more often and giggling and cooing, but I am a first-timer here and every first moment counts!
*We listen to super cool music. If you want to hear some random picks of ours, go crazy! (Also on side of page) We did not choose the option to have a song automatically start up when you come to our page. We find it slightly startling and forceful. Okay that last line was a bit harsh. We are actually just easily startled by LOUD NOISES!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Right now, Violet's two favorite songs are the Hokey Pokey and Winter Wonderland (as sung by the Eurythmics...oh that Annie Lennox!)
*Mike says some pretty weirdo things to her, by the way. This will not come as a surprise to many, but I thought I would share just a few of them here:
-Dear Santa, please give me stripes for Christmas. No, not the Bill Murray movie Stripes, but the actual pattern. Ten feet tall, please.
-Listen Violet, sometimes the "k" at the beginning of a word is silent. DON'T ASK ME WHY! JUST DO IT!!! (The part in caps was totally said in a typical Brooklyn accent, by the way)
-We need to go to Old Country Buffet for the Early Bird special and wear large jackets so we can stuff them with chicken fingers that we can take home to eat later. We need to get a goat whose milk is honey mustard. Did you know that honey mustard is just honey and mustard?
-Watch the head, kid! You'd think you were at an Iron Maiden show!
-I think your diaper needs a therapist.
Again, these are just the few that I can remember (I have to write them down.) It's just weird, funny but cute things I just happen to overhear him talking to her about.
Enough random for now. I shall leave you with the sneeze song.
Enjoying some six week smiles
Violet is six weeks old and the smiles are pouring in. She started smiling almost two weeks ago, but there are two events unique to this week.
Part I: The First Event
-or-
Excuse me but I couldn't help but notice your impressive facial contortions
Friday (11/12) was a fun and busy day. Lea, Violet, and I started it off by organizing a short road trip, then cancelled it to relax at home and prepare for the photographer. Tom B arrived in the early evening to shoot V's first professional photos. We had a good time hanging out, playing with Violet, and previewing the pictures (which we are in love with). As I held V later that evening, I gave her a big smile and she smiled back. This sent me through the roof. There is a connection. It has existed since before she was born, but never as clearly. It's the first time I felt that she could see me.
Part II: The Second Event
-or-
This is the first event of the rest of the events
We actually captured some smiles onto video this week. Let me clarify, Lea captured the smiles as I contributed the background snores. If you ask me, the snores bring an exciting realism to the spacial substructure of the piece. They really tie the video together. Allow me to share...
This was shot with our Canon PowerShot and mashed together with Windows Movie Maker. I'm excited to see what I can create with some new toys, a D-SLR and a video editing suite (Pinnacle was the last one I used).
<4
Part I: The First Event
-or-
Excuse me but I couldn't help but notice your impressive facial contortions
Friday (11/12) was a fun and busy day. Lea, Violet, and I started it off by organizing a short road trip, then cancelled it to relax at home and prepare for the photographer. Tom B arrived in the early evening to shoot V's first professional photos. We had a good time hanging out, playing with Violet, and previewing the pictures (which we are in love with). As I held V later that evening, I gave her a big smile and she smiled back. This sent me through the roof. There is a connection. It has existed since before she was born, but never as clearly. It's the first time I felt that she could see me.
Part II: The Second Event
-or-
This is the first event of the rest of the events
We actually captured some smiles onto video this week. Let me clarify, Lea captured the smiles as I contributed the background snores. If you ask me, the snores bring an exciting realism to the spacial substructure of the piece. They really tie the video together. Allow me to share...
This was shot with our Canon PowerShot and mashed together with Windows Movie Maker. I'm excited to see what I can create with some new toys, a D-SLR and a video editing suite (Pinnacle was the last one I used).
<4
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
The new Mommy Post
I am not the type to give out unsolicited advice. I don't like to tell others what to do, what to buy. (I do not like when these things are pushed on me, therefore, I am not a pusher.) If asked, I will tell. If I want advice, I will ask. I am no expert - only a newb - at this. With that said, I have been asked about a few things pertaining to baby. Everyone is different, but here are the things that are working for us, so far...
WARNING! TMI! If you do not wish to read intimate details of the womanly variety, please avert your eyeballs, people!
Labor/delivery :
My experience was, for the most part, ideal. My amazing husband has posted a birth story...he was the one who kept a timeline and was not in excruciating pain. (Hey, thanks again, babe!) I thought it was false labor. Everything went by so quickly, even though from the time I arrived at the hospital until the time I delivered was around 12-13 hours. Yes, I had an epidural. I had two of them, actually. They let Mike stay with me for them. The dr. put the first one in wrong and I felt every bit of it, which was not pleasant at all. I sat perfectly still for both of them, too. Because of the first one being screwed up, I am still dealing with muscle spasms and random, awkward numbness in parts of my back and ass and am told this can last for a few more weeks. I can still feel where both needles went in. Yum! The epidural(s) helped with contractions for the most part in the beginning but I still felt everything else. I don't have anything else to compare this to but I also don't mind bc if I felt everything AND contractions on top of that, I'd probably want to scream! (Which I didn't do at all! Don't let movies fool you! I couldn't catch my breath long enough to get a sentence out, barely above a whisper!) Bottom line - yes, it hurt and yes, it's worth it. Would I do it again? Yes. We want three more, if possible. Extra TMI? (Sorry, I am not into puppies, rainbows and glitter to sugarcoat things!) Healing sucks. (6-8 weeks people!) Stitches suck! Peri bottles are awesome. So are mesh underwear and hospital pads that are the size of phonebooks. Bleeding sucks. Baby blues = terrible! Babies rule.
Breastfeeding :
It is not easy for everyone. It does not "come naturally" for everyone, either. I owe so much to the lactation consultants at the hospital. They have been more than helpful and I want to squeeze them! After week 2, we got the hang of things, for the most part. We do not supplement with formula. We do not use pacifiers. Some days are easier than others and very rarely does Violet feed from a bottle (also breast milk) so nope - no babysitters for us. Not for awhile, either. Thanks for the offers, though! (We just can't stay away from her!!! Even if I wasn't breastfeeding her!)
What works for us?
A lot of items we have, we do not even use. We don't have to. (She also has MORE than enough clothes in every size, that I'm afraid she won't even have the chance to wear, unless we do several outfit changes a day which is highly unnecessary.) So here's what we have, that we use and what seems to be working, thus far :
Fisher Price Rock n Play Sleeper
Anything black and white (high contrast stuff stimulates her and she loves it!)
http://www.makingsenseofbaby.com/ is a great site!!!
Fisher-Price Luv U Zoo Deluxe Musical Mobile Gym
Fisher-Price Ocean Wonders Soothe & Glow Seahorse
Playskool Lullaby Gloworm
Summer Infant SwaddleMe organic blanket/wraps
Born Free BPA-free glass bottles (We do not use bottles very often, but when we do, we like these bc they have a slower flow.)
LittleMissMatched Zoe Cuddle Creature
LittleMissMatched Fuzzy Buddy & Blanket - Peace Sign
Okay, so the last two we like a lot more than she does, for now!
When all else fails, breast is best.
Trying out cloth diapering starting this next week. Pretty excited, as we have gone through 400+ diapers since she was born and who knows how many wipes!!! (Yep, we are going to use cloth wipes, too.) Too many chemicals in diapers. So wasteful. They cause rashes. Blah blah blah. They're bad. We are going to try our hardest to make the whole CDing thing work.
I know a lot of moms use gripe water and gas drops. I have them on hand "in case" but I don't have baby Tylenol; go figure. Our pediatrician is two blocks away. He said we don't need it in the house and should use it as a last resort. We have a delayed vaccination schedule and if we don't want her vaccinated at ALL, he is fine with that, too. We plan on listening to our pediatrician and our instincts from here on out to avoid any unnecessary paranoia/confusion. We are her parents and don't feel that we are given enough credit when making these decisions for her. She is our child and we will do what is best for her. What we decide is what we decide. Bottom line. 'Nuff said.
I was discussing with a friend recently the topic of piercing baby girl's ears. I was on the fence. I was thinking maybe we should get them done by the nurse at the pedi office now so that she will not fuss with them, leading to an infection. (I had mine done as a baby, so why not right?) I would never take her to a place in the mall and have them done with a gun. ICK!!! Plus, getting them done with a gun can make them very uneven and as she grows, they may appear even more lop-sided. On the other hand (and I will put it in my friend's words, since she worded it so well) I do not agree with inflicting unnecessary pain on a baby for the pleasure of it looking pretty. It is not for the baby then. It is for the parent. When she is older, if she asks to have them done, then maybe!
Some have inquired about my "labor playlist." My OB urged me to make one. I started one and never finished it. (Meaning, I meant to upload more songs onto iTunes, but this is what I ended up with.) We hooked it up to the television at the hospital, so it played right by my head, on repeat (over and over and over...) and I am SO happy that I had that playlist. It was a quiet, painful night and the music helped a lot! Plus, Violet was born to a beautiful song. We did not watch any TV during our stay, other than the mandatory scary baby DVDs they made us watch (and sign papers, stating we watched them.) Here's my list:
A Fine Frenzy - Come On, Come Out
A Tribe Called Quest - Once Again
Belly - Feed The Tree
Ben Folds Five - Raindrops
Best Coast - When I'm With You
Black Kids - I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You
Black Kids - Hurricane Jane
Bruce Springsteen - I'm on Fire
Built To Spill - Carry the Zero
Coldplay - Yellow
Coldplay - Shiver
Coldplay - The Scientist
Coldplay - Don't Panic
Damien Rice - The Blower's Daughter
Dramarama - Anything, Anything
Duncan Sheik - Barely Breathing (Acoustic)
Elton John - Rocket Man
Everything But The Girl - Missing (Acoustic)
Folk Implosion - Natural One
Garbage - Push it
Genesis - Invisible Touch
Iron and Wine - Naked As We Came
Jack Johnson - Upside Down
Johny Cash & June Carter - Long Legged Guitar Pickin' Man
Le Tigre - Deceptacon
Lisa Loeb - Snow Day
Luscious Jackson - Lady Fingers
Mates Of State - Fluke
MGMT - Electric Feel
My Morning Jacket - Librarian
My Morning Jacket - Thank You Too!
My Morning Jacket - Just One Thing
Natalie Merchant - Thank You
Neil Young - Unknown Legend
Panic At The Disco - Nine In The Afternoon
Peter Frampton - Baby I Love Your Way (Acoustic)
Phil Collins - Sussudio
Q-Tip - Vibrant Thing
Ray LaMontagne - You Are the Best Thing
Relient K - Be My Escape (Acoustic)
Rogue Wave - Eyes
Rufus Wainwright - Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk
Santigold - Shove It (feat. Spank Rock)
Smokie Robinson - You Really Got A Hold On Me
Tears For Fears - Head Over Heels
Thao Nguyen With The Get Down Stay Down - Violet
The Cardigans - You're The Storm
The Cardigans - Erase-Rewind
The Cranberries - Linger (Acoustic)
The Cranberries - I Miss You When You're Gone
The Dismemberment Plan - You Are Invited
The Get Up Kids - Valentine
The Lemonheads - If I Could Talk I'd Tell You
The Platters - Sea Of Love
The Reindeer Section - Cartwheels
Toad The Wet Sprocket - All I Want (acoustic)
Youth Group - Forever Young (Alphaville cover)
Maybe I should have blogged about some of these things sooner? I've been very busy, so please forgive me if some of these are late, misspelled (SO not like me!) or choppy. Typing one-handed and getting used to everything still has its challenges! I am sure I am missing a bunch of things in this blog post...any questions, just leave a comment.
I've been busy doing this <3
WARNING! TMI! If you do not wish to read intimate details of the womanly variety, please avert your eyeballs, people!
Labor/delivery :
My experience was, for the most part, ideal. My amazing husband has posted a birth story...he was the one who kept a timeline and was not in excruciating pain. (Hey, thanks again, babe!) I thought it was false labor. Everything went by so quickly, even though from the time I arrived at the hospital until the time I delivered was around 12-13 hours. Yes, I had an epidural. I had two of them, actually. They let Mike stay with me for them. The dr. put the first one in wrong and I felt every bit of it, which was not pleasant at all. I sat perfectly still for both of them, too. Because of the first one being screwed up, I am still dealing with muscle spasms and random, awkward numbness in parts of my back and ass and am told this can last for a few more weeks. I can still feel where both needles went in. Yum! The epidural(s) helped with contractions for the most part in the beginning but I still felt everything else. I don't have anything else to compare this to but I also don't mind bc if I felt everything AND contractions on top of that, I'd probably want to scream! (Which I didn't do at all! Don't let movies fool you! I couldn't catch my breath long enough to get a sentence out, barely above a whisper!) Bottom line - yes, it hurt and yes, it's worth it. Would I do it again? Yes. We want three more, if possible. Extra TMI? (Sorry, I am not into puppies, rainbows and glitter to sugarcoat things!) Healing sucks. (6-8 weeks people!) Stitches suck! Peri bottles are awesome. So are mesh underwear and hospital pads that are the size of phonebooks. Bleeding sucks. Baby blues = terrible! Babies rule.
Breastfeeding :
It is not easy for everyone. It does not "come naturally" for everyone, either. I owe so much to the lactation consultants at the hospital. They have been more than helpful and I want to squeeze them! After week 2, we got the hang of things, for the most part. We do not supplement with formula. We do not use pacifiers. Some days are easier than others and very rarely does Violet feed from a bottle (also breast milk) so nope - no babysitters for us. Not for awhile, either. Thanks for the offers, though! (We just can't stay away from her!!! Even if I wasn't breastfeeding her!)
What works for us?
A lot of items we have, we do not even use. We don't have to. (She also has MORE than enough clothes in every size, that I'm afraid she won't even have the chance to wear, unless we do several outfit changes a day which is highly unnecessary.) So here's what we have, that we use and what seems to be working, thus far :
Fisher Price Rock n Play Sleeper
Anything black and white (high contrast stuff stimulates her and she loves it!)
http://www.makingsenseofbaby.com/ is a great site!!!
Fisher-Price Luv U Zoo Deluxe Musical Mobile Gym
Fisher-Price Ocean Wonders Soothe & Glow Seahorse
Playskool Lullaby Gloworm
Summer Infant SwaddleMe organic blanket/wraps
Born Free BPA-free glass bottles (We do not use bottles very often, but when we do, we like these bc they have a slower flow.)
LittleMissMatched Zoe Cuddle Creature
LittleMissMatched Fuzzy Buddy & Blanket - Peace Sign
Okay, so the last two we like a lot more than she does, for now!
When all else fails, breast is best.
Trying out cloth diapering starting this next week. Pretty excited, as we have gone through 400+ diapers since she was born and who knows how many wipes!!! (Yep, we are going to use cloth wipes, too.) Too many chemicals in diapers. So wasteful. They cause rashes. Blah blah blah. They're bad. We are going to try our hardest to make the whole CDing thing work.
I know a lot of moms use gripe water and gas drops. I have them on hand "in case" but I don't have baby Tylenol; go figure. Our pediatrician is two blocks away. He said we don't need it in the house and should use it as a last resort. We have a delayed vaccination schedule and if we don't want her vaccinated at ALL, he is fine with that, too. We plan on listening to our pediatrician and our instincts from here on out to avoid any unnecessary paranoia/confusion. We are her parents and don't feel that we are given enough credit when making these decisions for her. She is our child and we will do what is best for her. What we decide is what we decide. Bottom line. 'Nuff said.
I was discussing with a friend recently the topic of piercing baby girl's ears. I was on the fence. I was thinking maybe we should get them done by the nurse at the pedi office now so that she will not fuss with them, leading to an infection. (I had mine done as a baby, so why not right?) I would never take her to a place in the mall and have them done with a gun. ICK!!! Plus, getting them done with a gun can make them very uneven and as she grows, they may appear even more lop-sided. On the other hand (and I will put it in my friend's words, since she worded it so well) I do not agree with inflicting unnecessary pain on a baby for the pleasure of it looking pretty. It is not for the baby then. It is for the parent. When she is older, if she asks to have them done, then maybe!
Some have inquired about my "labor playlist." My OB urged me to make one. I started one and never finished it. (Meaning, I meant to upload more songs onto iTunes, but this is what I ended up with.) We hooked it up to the television at the hospital, so it played right by my head, on repeat (over and over and over...) and I am SO happy that I had that playlist. It was a quiet, painful night and the music helped a lot! Plus, Violet was born to a beautiful song. We did not watch any TV during our stay, other than the mandatory scary baby DVDs they made us watch (and sign papers, stating we watched them.) Here's my list:
A Fine Frenzy - Come On, Come Out
A Tribe Called Quest - Once Again
Belly - Feed The Tree
Ben Folds Five - Raindrops
Best Coast - When I'm With You
Black Kids - I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You
Black Kids - Hurricane Jane
Bruce Springsteen - I'm on Fire
Built To Spill - Carry the Zero
Coldplay - Yellow
Coldplay - Shiver
Coldplay - The Scientist
Coldplay - Don't Panic
Damien Rice - The Blower's Daughter
Dramarama - Anything, Anything
Duncan Sheik - Barely Breathing (Acoustic)
Elton John - Rocket Man
Everything But The Girl - Missing (Acoustic)
Folk Implosion - Natural One
Garbage - Push it
Genesis - Invisible Touch
Iron and Wine - Naked As We Came
Jack Johnson - Upside Down
Johny Cash & June Carter - Long Legged Guitar Pickin' Man
Le Tigre - Deceptacon
Lisa Loeb - Snow Day
Luscious Jackson - Lady Fingers
Mates Of State - Fluke
MGMT - Electric Feel
My Morning Jacket - Librarian
My Morning Jacket - Thank You Too!
My Morning Jacket - Just One Thing
Natalie Merchant - Thank You
Neil Young - Unknown Legend
Panic At The Disco - Nine In The Afternoon
Peter Frampton - Baby I Love Your Way (Acoustic)
Phil Collins - Sussudio
Q-Tip - Vibrant Thing
Ray LaMontagne - You Are the Best Thing
Relient K - Be My Escape (Acoustic)
Rogue Wave - Eyes
Rufus Wainwright - Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk
Santigold - Shove It (feat. Spank Rock)
Smokie Robinson - You Really Got A Hold On Me
Tears For Fears - Head Over Heels
Thao Nguyen With The Get Down Stay Down - Violet
The Cardigans - You're The Storm
The Cardigans - Erase-Rewind
The Cranberries - Linger (Acoustic)
The Cranberries - I Miss You When You're Gone
The Dismemberment Plan - You Are Invited
The Get Up Kids - Valentine
The Lemonheads - If I Could Talk I'd Tell You
The Platters - Sea Of Love
The Reindeer Section - Cartwheels
Toad The Wet Sprocket - All I Want (acoustic)
Youth Group - Forever Young (Alphaville cover)
Maybe I should have blogged about some of these things sooner? I've been very busy, so please forgive me if some of these are late, misspelled (SO not like me!) or choppy. Typing one-handed and getting used to everything still has its challenges! I am sure I am missing a bunch of things in this blog post...any questions, just leave a comment.
I've been busy doing this <3
Monday, November 1, 2010
A Halloween Visitor
We had a visitor last night while Violet was sleeping. It was the Great Pumpkin! He left as quick as he came, but stayed long enough to drop off a present and a note and tell us how much he loved Violet's Princess Leia costume.
We're going to carve one awesome pumpkin for him next year.
We're going to carve one awesome pumpkin for him next year.
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